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Pregnancy safety advice row

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has been criticised for saying pregnant women may want to "play it safe" and avoid chemicals in food packaging, cosmetics and family medicines that could cause harm to their unborn babies.

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Further research 'urgently' needed into pregnancy risks

The RCOG report on the effects of chemical exposure during pregnancy highlights the urgent need for further research in this area.

The lack of practical guidance for parents to help protect children from harmful chemicals can cause unnecessary anxiety for parents.

It’s unacceptable that pregnant women today are still having to make decisions without clear information on possible risks.

NCT is calling on the Government to invest in further research in this area as a matter of priority.

– NCT’s Senior Policy Adviser, Rosemary Dodds

New pregnancy advice is 'bamboozling'

Pregnant women are constantly bombarded by often contradictory information telling them what they can and can't do.

This latest list of things pregnant women might want to avoid is bamboozling because of th esheer volume of things on it which in practical terms makes it almost impossible to follow.

What mums-to-be could do with is some clear,evidence-based guidance, on how much of what is safe to consume and what needs to be avoided altogether.

– Justine Roberts, Mumsnet co-founder and CEO

Pregnancy advice provokes criticism

Advice from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has provoked concern, with critics saying the report is alarmist and can add to a mother's stress.

Tracey Brown, from Sense About Science, said the warning could cause more harm than good.

Pregnancy is a time when people spend a lot of time and money trying to work out which advice to follow, and which products to buy or avoid. The simple question parents want answered during pregnancy is, 'Should we be worried?'.

What we need is help in navigating these debates about chemicals and pregnancy. Disappointingly, the RCOG report has ducked this.

As the report itself shows, there are many unfounded rumours about links between particular substances and pregnancy outcomes.

Pregnancy advice helps women 'play safe'

For most environmental chemicals we do not know whether or not they really affect a baby's development, and obtaining definitive guidance will take many years.

This paper outlines a practical approach that pregnant women can take if they are concerned about this issue and wish to 'play safe' in order to minimise their baby's exposure.

However, we emphasise that most women are exposed to low doses of chemicals over their lifetime which in pregnancy may pose minimal risk to the developing baby.

– Professor Richard Sharpe, of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh

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Pregnant women warned over household products

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has issued new guidance to pregnant women. Credit: PA Wire

Pregnant women are being advised to avoid chemicals in household products such as food packaging, cosmetics and family medicines that could cause harm to their unborn babies.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says women should be made aware of the sources of chemicals to minimise the possibility of harm during pregnancy.

It has urged them to "play it safe", despite uncertainty about chemicals' effects and the surrounding risks.

But the report's authors admit there is little evidence to suggest whether such chemicals do affect a baby's development, or even if there is a risk to health. However, they advise women to assume that a risk is present.

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